I think this is the third major release of the series on 5-inch disc. The previous out-of-print release was on DVD but I'm fairly certain that there were announced plans for a re-release on DVD as well as the Blu ray edition.

You can bet there will be new material here. Most of the main cast is still living... Guy Williams (Dr. John Robinson, family head) and Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) have been dead for years now. The actors who also played The Robot, Dick Tufeld (the voice) and Bob May (the guy who operated the Robot chasis), are also deceased.

[The Robot himself is one of the most recognizable robot characters in sci-fi history. The Robot's designer also designed Robby the Robot who also appeared on LiS at least twice during the show's run.]

This is probably the last big (as in VERY popular, not cultish following) American sci-fi series from the 1960s that's finally being released in HD.The other big two were of course Star Trek: TOS and the original Twilight Zone.

The Twilight Zone and Star Trek: TOS have held up better, IMHO, but there's no question Lost in Space was very popular in reruns through at least the 1980s -- primarily with kids and people who had their own kids by that time (who saw the show in its original run on CBS in the 1960s). Afternoon syndicated reruns on local TV (WUAB Ch-43, Cleveland; that's the channel where I saw about half the sci-fi shows I got hooked on as a kid) was where I was exposed to the series. I probably wouldn't watch more than an episode or two of LiS now BUT I can see why it would still appeal to younger children.

"Waiter, more champagne...and plenty of ice!"- Randall/Time Bandits, 14 April 1912, 20 to midnight -- local time

That first season still holds up well, light on science but strong on story, and even the second season has a number of decent episodes. I haven't watched much of Season 3, but I do realize it generally got sillier as time went on.

Fans were quite dismayed by the unrestored nature of especially the season 3 box sets (video was outright murky), so this upgrade is long overdue. The series should look outstanding on Blu-ray, and the extras sound very promising.

I watched Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (the Japanese series that was edited into Battle of the Planets and G-Force; the original version is WAY better than the edited versions!) all the way through for the first time last year. There times that video was murky -- even dark! I thought it was the DVD player I was using but I switched to the PS3 and, yep, it was the video! I had a hard time believing anybody would call that video restored!

Anyhow, that show got re-released on Blu ray but I haven't had a desire to buy it again although it is cheaper on Blu ray than the original DVD release. I haven't heard stories if they actually fixed the video issues. That murkiness/darkness happened for around a dozen or so episodes out of the 105-episode count. I put up with it because the show was darn good! It actually replaced Batman:TAS and Justice League Unlimited as my favorite superhero action/adventure series.

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As for LiS, hopefully they fix everything for the Blu ray release.

Hasn't a 50-year-old TV show that's been in syndication forever paid for itself multiple times over? You would think the show's owners would want to fix the video issues and keep it looking as nice as possible for the future if it's still making them money!

They have tried to revive LiS twice... First, there was that awful film in 1998 (which made me swear off anything with a script written by Akiva Goldsman!) and there was also a TV pilot for a revamped LiS. I haven't watched much of it. The way they do sci-fi now is so cynical... It's the polar opposite of what it was decades ago.

Frankly, the earliest sci-fi film or TV series that strikes the right balance with me was the original version of The Day The Earth Stood Still. Great film AND great science fiction with a decent message. ( => And it also convinced me that Star Trek: The Motion Picture was NOT Robert Wise's fault. There was plenty of junk going on behind the scenes that was beyond his control and frankly a bunch of the people that messed that film up are probably dead now. No point in finger-pointing because I'm sure there was a full committee room of people you could blame for that mess!)

They would overdo that film today (and they probably did with the remake which I refused to watch).

"Waiter, more champagne...and plenty of ice!"- Randall/Time Bandits, 14 April 1912, 20 to midnight -- local time

The BDs of Lost in Space have totally remastered video, and early reports are that the show looks absolutely terrific. This is a no-brainer for me to upgrade my DVDs. Plus, the BDs have documentaries not on the DVDs, AND the animated special from the 1970s! That makes it a slam dunk.

I was glad I bought only two Gatchaman DVD sets. It made it easier to justify buying the BDs when they came out, which as you said were a great deal less expensive (especially when a sale came up).

Star Trek: TMP has its faults, but having just rewatched the original cut, I think it's still one of the best Trek films.

Love the score of the LIS movie...Bruce Broughton getting a chance to score a big blockbuster! Beautifully emotional main theme he brings to the movie, undone mostly by the last act and Gary Oldman chewing up the scenery.

I might have to go for this new Blu-ray set...I don't usually go for TV on disc as I never have the chance to watch, but the extras sound enticing more than anything.

The LiS movie, having been written by Akiva Goldsman and released a mere seven months after Batman & Robin, was our first national realization that maybe B&R hadn't been all Joel Schumacher's fault--Somebody else might have been responsible for all those dopey gags and heretically mangled pop-catchphrases all along. Had it never came out, Akiva would have remained innocent and undetected for the rest of his career.

But I can only imagine how good the original color S2&3 would look remastered--When they switched to color, they USED color. The original series is a guilty pleasure for me (Irwin Allen's naivety gives the whole series a child-like view, as if told from Will's viewpoint), and I'm tempted to get the entire set, despite the inevitable giggles. Maybe it's just Stockholm Syndrome from growing up with all those reruns on local stations in the afternoon.